Classic psychedelic and cannabis use among U.S. cancer survivors aged ≥ 50 years: nationally representative estimates by cancer type/site.

This item covers developments relevant to cannabis medicine and clinical practice. Clinicians monitoring evidence in this area should review the source material.

To examine the prevalence of lifetime (“ever”) cannabis and classic psychedelic use, and their co-use among U.S. adults aged ≥ 50 years with versus without a lifetime history of cancer, and to describe variation by cancer type/site among survivors. We analyzed pooled 2015-2019 and 2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data of U.S. adults aged ≥ 50 years (Unweighted; n = 42,815 for 2015-2019; n = 21,144 for 2021-2022). Lifetime cannabis and classic psychedelic (LSD, psilocybin, peyote/mescaline) use and cancer history (physician-diagnosed, self-reported) were assessed. Weighted prevalence estimates and 95% CIs were computed, and subgroup analyses by cancer type/site were conducted. Between 2015 and 2019, cannabis use was similar among cancer survivors (41.6%, 95% CI 40.0-43.2) and individuals without cancer (42.6%, 95% CI 42.0-43.2, p = 0.21). LSD (8.9, 95% CI 8.1-9.7 vs 10.3, 95% CI 9.8-10.8) and psilocybin (6.4, 95% CI 5.6-7.3 vs 7.7, 95% CI 7.4-8.1) were lower amon

“This is a development worth tracking. The clinical implications will become clearer as more evidence accumulates.”

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